Low carb - no weight loss

[ketopaul]

Hi

Been lurking for a while... decided to jump in. No diabetes, just trying to loose extra weight...

A couple of months ago, I tried to follow a low carbs - high fat diet for a bit more than a month. After loosing a couple of pounds, I hit a plateau and just couldn't break through.

I didn't count calories nor macro-nutrients. I just didn't eat anything grain-based nor fruit. My diet consisted mainly of fats, eggs, fatty meat and fatty fish. I ate small amount of veggies.

I did drink continue drinking alcohol in the weekend. Was this the reason? Or was I just consuming too much calories (I ate until I was full, and would sometimes snack "allowed" foods)?

Thanks for any insights!

Greetings
Paul

 

[mariavontrapp]

Hi Paul
Weight loss is a very complex issue, and a lot of the things we have been taught may not be true. I have found the work of Dr Jason Fung very helpful and am now trying intermittent fasting because, like you, I plateaued. First I watched his talks on YouTube and then I read The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting.

 

[ketopaul]

Hi Paul
Weight loss is a very complex issue, and a lot of the things we have been taught may not be true. I have found the work of Dr Jason Fung very helpful and am now trying intermittent fasting because, like you, I plateaued. First I watched his talks on YouTube and then I read The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting.

How long are your fasts?

 

[Guzzler]

Alcahol is just empty calories. It may be worth giving up for a while in an effort to kickstart your weight loss again. Beer, lager and ale are very carb heavy, not so much shorts. Intermittent fasting does help some people with weight loss but this must be in conjunction with low carbing.

 

[Peerless67]

I am no dietician but if you are drinking over the weekend and taking yourself out of ketosis, you are likely out until midweek. Then a couple of days later you are back drinking.

 

[mariavontrapp]

How long are your fasts?

I'm just a beginner with fasting - it's not something I ever thought I'd be able to do but I've been reading up on it and it makes sense for me, in conjunction with low-carbing. I want to be able to do a 24 hour fast once or twice a week, and I am building up gradually so that I feel comfortable with it. At the moment I do not eat anything for 12 hours overnight and then in addition to that I extend it a couple of times a week so that I am now able to do 17 hours comfortably. I'm just going to build up gradually and see where it goes. It may not sound like a lot but I'm already seeing improvements in my glucose levels and have lost a few pounds. I used to be a "little and often" eater and was usually up in the night for a snack too!

 

[ketopaul]

I am no dietician but if you are drinking over the weekend and taking yourself out of ketosis, you are likely out until midweek. Then a couple of days later you are back drinking.

Good point.

Do you think any amount- and kind - of alcohol kicks you out?

 

[ketopaul]

I'm just a beginner with fasting - it's not something I ever thought I'd be able to do but I've been reading up on it and it makes sense for me, in conjunction with low-carbing. I want to be able to do a 24 hour fast once or twice a week, and I am building up gradually so that I feel comfortable with it. At the moment I do not eat anything for 12 hours overnight and then in addition to that I extend it a couple of times a week so that I am now able to do 17 hours comfortably. I'm just going to build up gradually and see where it goes. It may not sound like a lot but I'm already seeing improvements in my glucose levels and have lost a few pounds. I used to be a "little and often" eater and was usually up in the night for a snack too!

That makes lots of sense. Build up from 12 hours (which indeed sounds doable)

Thanks!

 

[Peerless67]

Good point.

Do you think any amount- and kind - of alcohol kicks you out?

I truthfully do not know, but I had an onion take me out.

 

[MikeTurin]

A couple of months ago, I tried to follow a low carbs - high fat diet for a bit more than a month. After loosing a couple of pounds, I hit a plateau and just couldn't break through.

I didn't count calories nor macro-nutrients. I just didn't eat anything grain-based nor fruit. My diet consisted mainly of fats, eggs, fatty meat and fatty fish. I ate small amount of veggies.

In general what happens when losing weight your basal calorie consumption goes down and of course if you are less heavy you'll need less power to reach the same speed you could try it with a carbon-frame sports bike and the steel frame city bike with groceries in the rear basket.
So the bad news is that if you're trying to losing weight you have to always keep an eye on the total energy intake, and and lower it according the lower weight.

The main advantage of lchf and mediterranean diet compared to eat well plate or low fat diet is that food is tastier - so is easier to stick to the diet. 100 grams of breadsticks is the same caloric intake of 100 g of Grana Padano, but the latter is way more filling.
Skimmed milk has less calories than full raw milk but I with a pint of raw milk I feel totally full - I can drink two pint of skimmed mils and still feel hungry...

 

[caroline_92]

I would also avoid snacks myself, as you need time between meals to get your blood sugar down. Sticking to 3, sensible sized low carb meals a day should be sufficient!

 

[Phoenix55]

Be a little patient. You may find that if you keep track of your measurements that your body is taking time to adjust itself during a plateau. Keep on doing what you feel comfortable with and with what you know you can sustain in the long run. Yoyo dieting is not good for anyone. Lose the weight gradually and keep it off for a year and you will find that you have retrained your body and your appetite. I lost a pound a week over several months and it has stayed off even when I went on a cruise!

 

[yetta2mymom]

In general what happens when losing weight your basal calorie consumption goes down and of course if you are less heavy you'll need less power to reach the same speed you could try it with a carbon-frame sports bike and the steel frame city bike with groceries in the rear basket.
So the bad news is that if you're trying to losing weight you have to always keep an eye on the total energy intake, and and lower it according the lower weight.

The main advantage of lchf and mediterranean diet compared to eat well plate or low fat diet is that food is tastier - so is easier to stick to the diet. 100 grams of breadsticks is the same caloric intake of 100 g of Grana Padano, but the latter is way more filling.
Skimmed milk has less calories than full raw milk but I with a pint of raw milk I feel totally full - I can drink two pint of skimmed mils and still feel hungry...

Hi
There are a lot of people (amount varies with the society) which process sugar differently than the way in the literature (maybe 1/2 the people in India). All humans have hormones which can produce insulin resistance. These hormones are produced in the placenta in pregnant women and are produced (?) elsewhere in the body. The other group of people are much more efficient in processing sugar since they allow their blood sugar to float until it gets too high.and avoid changing sugar into fat and then fat into sugar (lose up to 1/3 (boy that is a lot) of the energy when you do this). One problem with this form of sugar processing is that women in pregnancy become diabetic since if they stopped the hormones that would also tend to stop the hormones for the fetus. The fetus would die. People with this form of sugar processing do not lose weight on a low carb diet. This is true because you lose weight on such a diet is that you produce insulin to handle protein, otherwise you would have a build up of amonia and after a while you would die. Once the insulin is in the blood it does not know protein from sugar. It therefore changes sugar into fat. I guess that everyone produces the hormones, in this case, to prevent very low blood sugar. In any case you end up with a lower blood sugar than the body is comfortable with and the liver changes fat into sugar. This sugar into fat and then fat into sugar is very energy intensive you lose weight. If you are insulin resistance you do not have this problem. Thus people with type 2 diabetes or people with my genetics do not lose weight.

 

[yetta2mymom]

Hi

Been lurking for a while... decided to jump in. No diabetes, just trying to loose extra weight...

A couple of months ago, I tried to follow a low carbs - high fat diet for a bit more than a month. After loosing a couple of pounds, I hit a plateau and just couldn't break through.

I didn't count calories nor macro-nutrients. I just didn't eat anything grain-based nor fruit. My diet consisted mainly of fats, eggs, fatty meat and fatty fish. I ate small amount of veggies.

I did drink continue drinking alcohol in the weekend. Was this the reason? Or was I just consuming too much calories (I ate until I was full, and would sometimes snack "allowed" foods)?

Thanks for any insights!

Greetings
Paul

Hi
There are a lot of people (amount varies with the society) which process sugar differently than the way in the literature (maybe 1/2 the people in India). All humans have hormones which can produce insulin resistance. These hormones are produced in the placenta in pregnant women and are produced (?) elsewhere in the body. The other group of people are much more efficient in processing sugar since they allow their blood sugar to float until it gets too high.and avoid changing sugar into fat and then fat into sugar (lose up to 1/3 (boy that is a lot) of the energy when you do this). One problem with this form of sugar processing is that women in pregnancy become diabetic since if they stopped the hormones that would also tend to stop the hormones for the fetus. The fetus would die. People with this form of sugar processing do not lose weight on a low carb diet. This is true because you lose weight on such a diet is that you produce insulin to handle protein, otherwise you would have a build up of amonia and after a while you would die. Once the insulin is in the blood it does not know protein from sugar. It therefore changes sugar into fat. I guess that everyone produces the hormones, in this case, to prevent very low blood sugar. In any case you end up with a lower blood sugar than the body is comfortable with and the liver changes fat into sugar. This sugar into fat and then fat into sugar is very energy intensive you lose weight. If you are insulin resistance you do not have this problem. Thus people with type 2 diabetes or people with my genetics do not lose weight.